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Regional Review Conference on the Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development

Antigua, Guatemala | 28-30 April 2014

Ending armed violence for peace and development

Around 130 participants from governments, regional organizations, civil society organizations, and other stakeholders working to prevent and reduce armed violence met in La Antigua, Guatemala, from 28 to 30 April 2014 in order to review progress to the implementation of armed violence reduction and prevention interventions in the framework of the Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development.

Background

Since its inception in 2006, regular Review Conferences have served as opportunities to assess progress in the process and implementation of the Geneva Declaration, highlight important elements of the armed violence reduction and prevention agenda, survey effective policies and practices, and build momentum behind the core objectives of the GD. Ministerial Review Conferences were held in Geneva in 2008 and in 2011. Rather than a further global Ministerial Review Conference in 2014, a series of Regional Review Conferences (RRCs) are being held between April and October of 2014. This regional process will allow for greater attention to the particular realities of armed violence as they are faced in different regional settings. The meetings will cover the regions of the Americas, Asia and the Pacific, Sub–Saharan Africa, the Middle East and North Africa, and Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia, and the first RRC was held in Guatemala in April 2014. These meetings not only allow for the review of implementation steps by states of the Geneva Declaration commitments but also to encourage support for the meaningful integration of armed violence reduction and prevention into national and international development processes, including the framework that will be follow on from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Citizen security and the reduction and prevention of armed violence is a priority issue for the Americas. One third of lethal violence globally is committed in the region: during the 2007-12 period 36% of violent deaths in the world occurred in the region. Twenty-two American countries have rates higher than the global average, and seven of these have homicide rates of more than 30 per 100,000 population.

Firearms are frequently used in lethal violence in the region, with firearms being used for over half of the homicides in the Americas; in Central America, two out three homicides are committed using a firearm.

During the three days of the event, the participants had the opportunity to share experiences and practical knowledge on issues such as monitoring armed violence and firearms; assessing the impact of citizen security interventions; the role of changing masculinities to address gender-based violence; the role of the private sector in armed violence reduction and prevention; the role of youth as a factor of change; and addressing the problems faced by victims and survivors of armed violence.

The following documents provide a summary and main points from the conference: